Question

question: 9 to study osmosis, a student placed a thin potato slice in a salt solution. the slice became soft and shriveled. then, he placed the shriveled slice in water. the slice regained its original shape. based on the observations, which of these statements is correct? a. the slice regained its shape because salt moved into the potato. b. the potato slice shriveled because water moved from the salt solution into the slice. c. the potato slice shriveled because water moved out of the slice into the salt solution. d. the slice regained its shape because the concentration of salt inside and outside the slice became equal.

Explanation:

• Option A: Salt does not move into the potato to make it regain shape; water movement is key in osmosis here, so A is incorrect.
• Option B: If water moved from the salt solution into the slice, the slice would swell, not shrivel. So B is incorrect.
• Option C: In a salt solution (hypertonic relative to potato cells), water moves out of the potato slice (hypotonic) into the salt solution (hypertonic) via osmosis, causing shriveling. This matches the observation.
• Option D: The slice regains shape when placed in water because water moves into the slice (since water is hypotonic relative to the shriveled slice's cells), not because salt concentrations equalize. So D is incorrect.

Answer:

C. The potato slice shriveled because water moved out of the slice into the salt solution.